I'll Be There
by StilloftheSilence
Summary: In the journey of Kaylie's recovery, Austin will be there every step of the way.  Takes place after finale.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Short scene of when Kaylie is in the hospital after her fall and Austin is with her. Titile from song "I'll Be There" by The Parlotones. Hope You like it!**

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Kaylie could hazily hear an annoying beeping sound. It wouldn't stop. _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._ She groaned wishing it would just _shut up_, and someone tightened their hold on her hand.

_That's strange, _she thought. She hadn't realized anyone else was with her. She vaguely wondered who it could be as she attempted to return to her former slumber, but the beeping prevented her from drifting off. Just as she decided that she might as well open her eyes, she felt a pair of lips skim the hand that was currently being held, and heard a faint "Please wake up."

She cracked one eye open and then the other and discovered that the hand that desperately gripped hers and the lips that and gently kissed that hand, belonged to none other than the Austin Tucker. Cocky, careless, famous, and hot as hell, Austin Tucker. Kaylie had never seen Austin any other way, but in this moment, that strong, confident, macho resolve had crumbled leaving a man who looked utterly broken, holding on to the one last shred of hope that was that beeping heart monitor, which Kaylie now realized, was the thing that had been keeping her from her sleep.

Kaylie sat there processing this, slightly confused, and then, it all came crashing back to her. _Austin_. He had saved her. He had caught her when she fell of the balance beam. Suddenly Kaylie was overwhelmed with emotion. Guilt, gratefulness, fear, and something else rolling around in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't quite identify.

She opened her eyes fully, hoping for an explanation, and Austin's face spread into the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen.

"Kaylie," he whispered in a husky sleep-deprived voice.

"Austin..." Kaylie didn't know what to say, how to thank him, how to express all the feelings fluttering around inside of her. "Thank you, I, you were right, you were right all along, I just didn't want to admit it, you did so much, you tried to help me and I pushed you away, I was so horrible to you, all you were trying to do was help me-"

"Shh," Austin cut her off, bringing his finger up to place over her lips. "You scared the hell out of me Kaylie Cruz."

"I'm sorry," she replied softly.

"Listen to me Kaylie, Don't ever, ever do that ever again. And more importantly, don't ever not listen to me again, because look where that got you." he said, gesturing to her in the hospital bed.

"I know, I know, and you have full rights to rub it in all you want, you were right and I was stupid, go ahead, say it." Kaylie said.

"For once, I don't want to." Austin's blue eyes shone with sincerity as he moved his hand to brush through her hair and rest cupping her fragile face. "You don't understand Kaylie, this wasn't like some bet for me, I've already been through this once, and when my sister got better, I swore that I would never let this happen to a girl I love ever again, and it did. It was my fault, I should have tried harder, I shouldn't have taken no for an answer, but my hope that you were right, my denial that you would do something so stupid kept me from-"

This time it was Kaylie's turn to interrupt, "Austin, please don't blame this on yourself, this one was all me, like you said, I was being stupid, and you did everything you could to help me, and you were even there to catch me when I really fell, and without you, I probably wouldn't even be here."

A relieved smile broke across his face, and he leaned forward and kissed her full on the mouth, when he pulled back he whispered, "I'm so glad that you're okay, even if you are a real pain in the ass to keep alive."

She smiled back sarcastically "Thanks."

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**My first ever Make it or Break it fic, so please review and tell me how I did! I haven't yet decided if I'm going to leave it as a one-shot or expand it into a story, let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I'm going to try to make this into an actual multi-chapter story, beacuse I love this couple, and I want to go with them on Kaylie's road to recovery, so here you are! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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"Come on, Kaylie, do it for me."

Kaylie sat in her bed at the hospital, still not fully recovered, staring at a large piece of chocolate cheesecake on a tray in front of her. Austin was at her bedside, a place which he rarely vacated lately.

She locked eyes with the boy beside her, and then picked up her fork and took a bite, and then another, and then another, and kept going until the entire thing was gone and Kaylie was licking chocolate off of her lips. It wasn't the first time she'd eaten since the accident, but she was still getting comfortable with it. She paused for a moment, looking up from her plate she found Austin staring at her intently. Then he grinned a crooked little grin and suddenly he was kissing her.

Kaylie wasn't really sure how she and Austin had gotten where they were now, but she sure was glad they did, because she didn't know if she'd be able to get through this without him standing right there with her every step of the way. Kaylie didn't understand why Austin did stay with her through every step. She wasn't his type, and he wasn't hers. Austin was the party guy who dated the tall, pretty, blonde models and didn't give a rat's ass about anyone but himself, and she was the committed, headstrong gymnast, and yet here he was, with her, making sure that she made it through.

He pulled away and the sparkling blue eyes he pierced her with, turned all that cheesecake in Kaylie's stomach to butterflies, and she blurted out the one question that had been burning in her brain for the last week, "Why are you still here?"

This question caught Austin off-guard, but he responded with a smile, "Because, if I'm here, then I don't have to go to the Rock."

"Ha ha, you're very funny" Kaylie quipped, "really though, why do you stay here with me every minute? You have a life too, you don't have to drop everything for me, and besides, don't you have some partying to do?"

Austin took a deep, serious breath, "I wish I knew."

"How much longer until I get to leave?" Kaylie whined, she was getting extremely impatient just sitting around in bed all day and needed to get back to her training.

"You'll be released tomorrow, but remember what the doctor said, you've still gotta take it easy for a while even after you go home, no training for another week." Austin said.

"Ugghhh, I _have_ to get back!" she complained.

"I know, babe, just be patient, and and I'll throw you a kick-ass 'Welcome Back' party, and an even better _after _party, if ya know what I mean." he told her, grinning cockily and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Kaylie blushed and whacked him in the arm, "Shut up, Austin."

Their banter was interrupted as Kaylie's parents entered the room and asked to have a private word with her, thus shunning Austin to the hallway, where there was way too much space to think.

Although he would never admit it to anyone, he was terrified. Austin Tucker did not date gymnasts, but he found himself being drawn to her, and now, now he didn't know that the hell he felt for Kaylie Cruz, all he did know was that he had never felt this way about anyone in his entire life, and that's exactly what scared him the most.

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**Hope you liked it! Make me really happy and review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, first off, I am sosososo sorry. It has been FOREVER since I updated this. I apologize. Anyway, I hope this turned out okay, it's been a long time since I wrote for this couple and I'm hoping the whole feel is still the same. Hope you like it! :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't ownnn.**

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Austin pulled up to his lake house and went inside. Kaylie was being released from the hospital today, but her parents had wanted to bring her home and spend some time with her. Fortunately, Kaylie's parents seemed closer than ever since her accident. Meanwhile, Austin had until tomorrow to get his head on straight. He and Kaylie were going to spend the day together tomorrow in celebration of her homecoming, plus, her parents had to go back to work tomorrow and they didn't want Kaylie to be alone her first day back, which meant they had the whole day to be together.

Austin decided to take a mind-clearing shower, Kaylie made him crazy sometimes and he needed to relax for the first time since she had fallen off the beam at try-outs. Since then, he hadn't had a quiet minute, he was worrying constantly, which was something he hadn't experienced since his sister's escapade, and something he had hoped, he wouldn't experience again. There was a reason he didn't date gymnasts, they were too intense, and he couldn't deal with theirs plus his own. But Kaylie was different. Since the first day he came to the Rock, he had this strange desire to protect her, and the more he got to know her, the stronger it became. Then even weirder feelings came. Austin didn't do relationships, they were too much drama, too much commitment, but something about Kaylie just drew him to her, and he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. Every minute he spent with her, he discovered something new he liked about her, which led to him spending more time with any girl than he had before. And when she fell off that beam, he knew that he had fallen too. He was in over his head now, and he knew there was no way out, but for once, he didn't really mind.

After his shower, his nerves had sufficiently calmed down and he decided to get some sleep. He drifted off, with his plans for the next day buzzing around in his head.

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Kaylie sat in the backseat of her parents car. While she was in the hospital, her parents had put their differences aside, and Kaylie was extremely grateful. But she knew that if she wanted it to last, some things needed it to change. Right now the main reason her parents were together was because of Kaylie's injury, if the state of her health had not been so poor, her parents would not be trying so hard. So Kaylie's plan was to guilt them into doing things they had done together as a family before, so that maybe, just maybe, they would miss it enough to try to be together for a different reason other than Kaylie's health.

As Kaylie sat there, her thoughts drifted. They ended up in virtually the same place every time. Austin. He was always there, even if he wasn't there physically, which most of the time he was, he was always in her head. She still couldn't believe what was going on. She never, _ever_ thought she would have any other feelings but annoyance for Austin, but since that heart-stopping moment when her weak and frail body had landed in his strong and sure arms, something inside her changed. He cared for her in a way that Carter never had. Carter was a great guy, and Kaylie had loved him, but it seemed like Carter always wanted something from her, always expected things from her. With Austin, everything was totally different.

Carter, she had already known him, she had thought she loved him, but Carter had hurt her, had betrayed her for her best friend, and once she wasn't being blinded by her "first love" she realized that what she had with Carter wasn't love after all, not for her. It seemed like her relationship with Austin was the complete polar opposite. The only expectations Austin had for Kaylie were for her own good, and he gained nothing from them, except for happiness that she was recovering. The more Kaylie discovered about Austin, the more she realized that he was not at all the guy she thought he was, or the guy he wanted people to think he was. He was truly amazing. He had been there in that hospital every day, and every single second he was with her, she found herself falling for him, in a completely new and incredible way. She thanked her lucky stars that he didn't leave her alone when she told him to, because if he had, Kaylie would not be in very good shape.

"Kaylie, were home, Honey," Her mom called from the front seat, snapping Kaylie from her reverie.

She breathed a sigh of relief, _finally. _She hated that hospital, and it was the best feeling in the world to just be _home_. Now if only they would let her get back to the Rock so that she could continue her training. If she was going to go to the Olympics, she didn't have time to be sitting around the house "recovering", she needed to be training.

She walked into the house and went straight to get a hot shower and go to bed. She was exhausted and Austin was taking her out tomorrow. Just thinking about spending a whole day with Austin, and without her parents, or the hospital or other gymnasts, made her stomach tumble.

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**Please Review, and let me know if I got that right, and if you liked it or not, I'm going to try to update this as much as possible before the premeire airs and every thing I've written is wrong.  
Thanks!:)**


	4. Chapter 4

**PLEASE READ A/N**

**A/N: Okay first off, thanks to my 2 reviewers Megan and Catie, that being said the last chapter I posted didn't recieve a single signed review. I love all my readers, but I would really appreciate it if you guys could drop me a review so I know what I'm doing right and wrong and what people think of it. I got over 300 hits on it, so it would be nice if more than 2 out of 300 people could tell me what they think. I'm sorry if I come off as bitching but I'm not trying to be mean, I just want to know what you guys think. :) Okay, reviews aside, this is more of a fluff chapter, but the next chapter will have some drama started! Hope you like this!**

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_Ding dong. _Austin rang the doorbell to the Cruz house at 9:30 AM sharp, and the door was answered a moment later, by a sleepy-looking Kaylie. Her hair was all ruffled, she wore no make-up, and she was dressed in baggy sweatpants and an oversized hoodie. "Good morning, Miss Cruz." Austin said brightly, giving Kaylie his signature half-smile, that told her that he had something up his sleeve, and it could either turn out very bad, or very, _very_ good.

"Uh, morning? What are you doing here so early?" Kaylie asked groggily, rubbing at her eyes. She hadn't expected Austin to show up until later.

"We're spending the day together." he told her, again flashing that mischievous grin.

"Starting now?"

"Right now, go get dressed."

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Fifteen minutes later, Kaylie emerged, with her hair in a ponytail, and minimal make-up, sporting a clean hoodie, and comfortable looking jeans. "What are we doing today?" she asked, curious as to what Austin could have thought up.

"You'll see." he replied, leaning down to give her a peck on the lips, she looked absolutely beautiful this morning.

He walked around the passenger side of his car and chivalrously opened the door for Kaylie as she climbed in.

They drove for a while, and Kaylie, who had grown up in Boulder, had a pretty good idea where they were going.

A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination. It was exactly the place Kaylie had suspected. He had taken her to the very park he had attempted to take her to before try-outs.

"Milady," Austin remarked as he again opened the door for her.

"Well, thank you kind sir," she laughed as she stepped out of the car.

"I thought," Austin said, opening his trunk and grabbing a bag, "that we'd try again with this picnic."

"I could be good with that," Kaylie said, following him to the same table they had sat at the last time.

"Good, because you don't really have a choice, this time were eating breakfast together whether you like it or not, although with you getting to look at me while you eat, I know you'll love it." he said, grinning cockily.

"Now, don't be getting a big head, you're not _that _good-looking." Kaylie responded.

"Ouch, Kay, that hurt a little bit." Austin said, pulling out fresh fruit salad, a couple muffins, and a thermos of coffee.

"Sorry, but someone had to tell you sometime, couldn't let you walk around thinking you're all that forever, that would just be cruel." Kaylie said, getting closer to Austin with every word and by the end of the sentence, she was whispering, her nose touching his.

"Well, I'm glad you have my best interest at heart." he said, his lips touching hers just briefly, teasing her, before pulling away and taking a bite of his muffin.

"Hey!" Kaylie objected, pouting, "that's not fair."

"Sure it is, apparently I'm not good looking anyway, so why would you want to kiss me?" Austin replied.

"Well, maybe you're a _little_ good looking," Kaylie said, coming over to sit on his lap, facing him.

"Just a little?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, that depends," she answered.

"Depends on what?" Austin said, their gazes locked intently.

Kaylie smiled and made to get off his lap, but she didn't get far before Austin grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down, forcing her to resume her former position. He kissed her deeply, tangling his fingers in her hair, savoring the feeling of her being in his arms, healthy and happy. He had never had this feeling before. Sure he'd felt things similar to it, but never anything this strong, he didn't even know how to describe it. Kaylie pulled away, grinning widely and out of breath, "Okay, you win, you are _definitely _good looking."

"I know," Austin replied smugly, "and you're absolutely beautiful, and you didn't even have to bribe me to say it."

Kaylie blushed briefly, giving him a sweet kiss, "Thanks, now are you gonna share this food, or eat it all yourself?"

"I suppose you can have some..." Austin sighed sarcastically.

The rest of the day was absolutely amazing. After a little exploring and a whole lot of doing nothing, they made their way back to Kaylie's house to relax and watch a few movies, which ones caused some dispute of course, but in the end they compromised on equal choosing.

Kaylie couldn't ever remember having a day like this. Austin made her heart beat faster than when she did her routines during competitions. Even when they were just sitting around watching movies. It was crazy, but it was a good kind of crazy, she liked it. And as she leaned into Austin on the couch they were sharing and he kissed the top of her head gently, Kaylie felt a sense of utter contentment wash over her and she suddenly had the desire that this perfect day would never end.

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**Don't forget to review please! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello all! I am sosoososoososo sorry. I know I haven't updated this in forever. I've been really busy and honestly I was a little stuck with this story. I haven't even been on this site in months. BUT don't worry, I'm back on track - I've gotta plan for this story now and I'm going to try to get it finished! Thank you to everyone that is sticking with me here! Here's a little something to make up for it**: .net/s/7757160/1/Distracted** (hopefully)**.

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They were sitting on Kaylie's couch halfway through _The Notebook _when Austin spoke up.

"I want you to meet my sister." he stated, looking down at her.

"Really?" Kaylie asked anxiously. His desire for her to meet his sister honestly surprised her, but she had no objection, in fact she wanted to meet her. Kaylie could see that Austin genuinely loved her and cared about her well-being, which was one of the things she loved about him. His protectiveness of his sister, and herself, was incredibly attractive.

"Yeah, you two are actually incredibly alike, and I think that you'd be friends, plus she's been begging to meet you forever." Austin replied.

"Of course I will. She sounds pretty cool, surprisingly, considering she's _your_ sister." Kaylie joked, looking up at him and batting her eyelashes mischievously.

"Ooh, you're just mean today." Austin replied with his hand on his heart as if she had wounded him.

Kaylie turned her head to place a light kiss on his chest, "There, all better. Or do you need a Band-Aid too for your bruised ego?"

Austin suddenly lifted and placed her so that she was sitting on his lap, "Your kisses always do the trick."

Kaylie smiled into his mouth, with a great mixture of feelings whirling around her stomach. She wanted to meet Austin's sister, she honestly did, but she was nervous that she wasn't up to it. Kaylie wanted to be able to be a good role model for Austin's sister, she had felt the same pressures as Kaylie had, and she obviously didn't react to them any better. Although Kaylie had conquered her problem, the problem didn't go away. She still felt that urge, she had simply learned to resist it, learned that she was better than her problem. However, bringing another anorexic into the picture, Austin's family couldn't be happy about.

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Kaylie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _In, out. In, out. _ She felt Austin squeeze her hand and she opened her eyes to look at him. He had that perfect, confident "I'm Austin Tucker." look on his face, complete with his knee-weakening smile. But Kaylie had grown to read him almost as well as he could read her. She knew that he was nervous too, she could see it in his eyes.

"Relax," he told her, "it'll be fine, they'll love you."

She pulled the corners of her mouth up to make him feel better and inhaled once more before he opened the door.

Her first thought was how pretty they were. Austin's mother was a petite blonde woman who had a heart-shaped face and a welcoming smile. She was pretty in a natural way, as if her kindness was what made her so beautiful. She greeted Kaylie immediately, pulling her into her welcoming embrace and smoothing her hair in a motherly way, as if she had known her all her life. When she pulled away, Kaylie could see that Austin had her eyes. "Hello, Kaylie, I'm so happy to finally meet you. Austin has told me a lot about you, all good things, don't worry."

Kaylie smiled, "It's very nice to meet you too, Mrs. Tucker."

"And this is Kira," Austin said, gesturing to another girl standing next to his mother. The first thing Kaylie noticed about her what that she was small, no she was miniscule. Kaylie wondered if people had the same reaction when they saw her for the first time. Kira was a pretty girl of about fifteen. She had gorgeous, long and wavy red hair and green eyes. Kira grabbed Kaylie and hugged her tightly, laughing.

"I'm so excited to finally meet you! You are so cool, and talented, and pretty!" she exclaimed.

Kaylie blushed, flattered that she thought so much of her. "Thanks, it's really nice to meet you, too!"

"So, Kaylie, Austin tells us you recently tore your ACL, I see you're back on your feet. I assume the recovery is going well?" Austin's mother asked.

A sense of dread overwhelmed Kaylie, wiping out her initial sense of relief. She didn't know. Of course she would like her, she didn't know that Kaylie was anorexic. All she saw was a nice girl, a good gymnast, a person perfect for her son. Kaylie saw Austin exchange a quick glance with his sister and he squeezed her hand, silently warning her not to speak.

"Her recovery is going great, she's a strong one. I'm really proud of her." he quickly cut in, moving his arm to squeeze her shoulder.

"That's great. I hope it doesn't give you any more trouble. A gymnast like you, World Champion, needs to keep healthy." Mrs. Tucker told her, smiling warmly.

"Mom, can I show Kaylie our Victory room?" Kira asked her mother hopefully.

"Yes, go ahead. Have fun, don't brag!" She told her.

"Thanks!" she said, grabbing Kaylie's hand and leading her to a room filled with trophies, medals, plaques and certificates.

Kaylie "oohed" and "ahhed" at all the appropriate times, deciding to wait and talk to Austin about his mother later, she didn't want to spoil the rest of the day and she honestly wanted to get to know his sister.

She noticed a framed picture of who she assumed was Austin's father on the wall of the Victory room.

The man in the picture had an Olympic gold medal around his neck and had a huge smile on his face, with his fist thrust in the air in victory.

"Why didn't you ever mention that your dad won the Gold?" Kaylie asked, pointing to the picture.

Austin shrugged, "It never came up."

Kaylie suspected there was more to the story, but she could tell he didn't want to talk about it, so she left it alone. She had known that his father had passed, but he didn't bring him up much. Kaylie just assumed that it must be too painful for him to talk about, but now she wished that he would someday be able to talk with her about him.

So they spent the rest of the day playing around on their indoor trampoline and beam (he was filthy rich after all) doing flips and teaching each other new tricks. Kaylie stayed for dinner, Mrs. Tucker had prepared a very nice meal. Then Kaylie said her goodbyes to his family and they left so Austin could take her home.

It wasn't until they were almost to Kaylie's house when she spoke up.

"Why haven't you told your mother about me?"

Austin reached over and took her hand, "I just don't want her to worry, she has enough to worry about."

"That's bullshit Austin, and you know it. You're afraid she won't accept me if she finds out I'm anorexic."

"Look, ever since my sister got sick, my mother has been extremely strict. Always monitoring her food intake and training time. She never understood why Kira started starving herself. She's the only one in the family that's not a gymnast, she doesn't understand the pressure. In her eyes, it was unacceptable. Period. I was just trying to protect you. If she knew you were anorexic too, regardless of the reason or the fact that you went through rehab and you're better now, she'd never look at you the same. The way she hasn't looked at my sister the same since the day I told her."

"Austin, I appreciate your trying to protect me, but we can't lie to her. I lied to everyone else, I won't lie to your mother. I've learned that lesson. No matter what happens, we have to tell her. If she doesn't accept me, I understand. But we can't lie to her."

Austin pulled into her driveway and parked the car. He turned it off and looked over at her, smoothing his thumb across her cheekbone and tucking her hair behind her ear. "You are so brave, so strong. How can so much heart and courage be contained in that little body?"

"I just want to do the right thing."

Austin sighed, leaning over to press his lips to hers. He stayed there for a second, enjoying her, the feelings she evoked in him were extraordinary.

"You're right," he admitted, "we'll tell her tomorrow, I promise."

"Okay," Kaylie agreed, her stomach churning with anticipation. She opened the door and gave him one last peck before getting out. "Tomorrow."

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**Don't forget to review!:)**


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